Last week the American Psychological Association (APA) released the second part of their findings from their 1oth annual Stress in America survey. While the first part of the findings dealt with changing national politics, the economy, and other topics (see below for a link to the report on these findings), we are going to focus on Part II, which deals with the impacts of technology and communication on stress levels in the United States. In addition to the insight the report provides on broader trends in our relationships with technology, social media, and work, there are some important takeaway lessons for mentoring programs and mentors.

First, let’s dive into the findings of the report itself. From the APA:

Constant Checkers Experience Higher Stress

This excessive technology and social media use have paved the way for the “constant checker” — those who check their email, texts, and social media accounts on a constant basis. The survey found that stress runs higher, on average, for constant checkers than for those who do not engage with technology as frequently. On a 10-point scale, where one is “little or no stress” and 10 is “a great deal of stress,” the average reported overall stress level for constant checkers is 5.3, compared with 4.4 for those who don’t check as frequently. Among employed Americans who check their work email constantly on their days off, their reported overall stress level is even higher, at 6.0.

“The emergence of mobile devices and social networks over the last decade has certainly changed the way Americans live and communicate on a daily basis,” said Lynn Bufka, Ph.D., APA’s associate executive director for practice research and policy. “Today, almost all American adults own at least one electronic device, with many being constantly connected to them. What these individuals don’t consider is that while technology helps us in many ways, being constantly connected can have a negative impact on both their physical and mental health.”

Parents Struggle to Manage Children’s Technology

Parents also seem to be feeling the pressure when it comes to balancing their children’s technology use when it comes to familial interactions. While 94 percent of parents say that they take at least one action to manage their child’s technology usage during the school year, almost half (48 percent) say that regulating their child’s screen time is a constant battle, and more than half of parents (58 percent) report feeling like their child is attached to their phone or tablet.

Additionally, almost half of parents (45 percent) say they feel disconnected from their families even when they are together because of technology. More than half of parents (58 percent) say they worry about the influence of social media on their child’s physical and mental health.

Effects of Social Media and Need for Digital Detox

Social media also negatively affects a greater proportion of constant checkers compared with those who do not check as frequently. More than two in five constant checkers (42 percent) say that political and cultural discussions on social media cause them stress, compared with 33 percent of nonconstant checkers. Additionally, 42 percent of constant checkers say they worry about the negative effects of social media on their physical and mental health, compared with 27 percent of people who don’t check as often.

This has led to the prevalence of the idea of taking a “digital detox,” or “unplugging” from social media to remove oneself from the constant exposure to updates and limiting technology and social media use. However, while almost 2/3 of respondents endorsed the importance of taking a break from digital media, less than a third (28%) actually are able to do so.

“Taking a digital detox is one of the most helpful ways to manage stress related to technology use,” Bufka said. “Constant checkers could benefit from limiting their use of technology and presence on social media. Adults, and particularly parents, should strive to set a good example for children when it comes to a healthy relationship with technology.”

Implications for mentoring and mentoring programs

So what does this mean for concerned mentors and mentoring programs? From the programmatic perspective, it means that social media and technology use will be a key aspect of the mentoring relationship. That in mind, it is crucial that programs provide guidance for mentors and mentees on how to navigate the social media landscape in the mentoring relationship. Unfortunately, recent research has shown that only about half of programs have a formalized policy regarding social media use, and a minority of programs (~10%) have policies regarding specific social media platforms and digital communication, such as Facebook or texting. This lack of guidance leaves mentors in a potential grey area for establishing boundaries in their mentoring relationships.

In considering the mentoring relationship perspective, there is an opportunity to incorporate a digital detox into the mentoring relationship that will help to provide your mentee a reprieve from constant social media engagement. Navigating social media is challenging enough for youth (and adults!), and taking the time to step back and connect on an interpersonal level with a mentor can help to provide the chance for the mentee to develop key interpersonal skills and connections. Creating a tech-free space can also give the mentee time to process their thoughts and feelings on something they have seen or experienced online or during the course of their day without the constant blizzard of updates, videos, and memes that serve to clutter the digital landscape.

For mentors, it is an opportunity for you to disconnect, too. The findings from these surveys apply to mentors and mentees both, with a constant connection being associated with more stress. Being a mentor is often a rewarding experience, but it can be stressful as well. Compounding that stress with constant social media and email engagement may lead to negative potential outcomes such as burnout or early relationship closure.

One other key takeaway is the importance of modeling proper social media behavior for your mentee. If you, as a mentor, are consistently engaged with your phone or computer, and not with your mentee, then you can expect them to return the favor. As the report mentions, parents are already struggling with managing youth engagement with technology. This is an opportunity to create a co-constructed space with your mentee to unplug from technology. That space can also help provide parents with a blueprint in responsibly managing youth and adolescent technology use.

Social media can be a useful tool in helping to develop mentoring relationships and skills for mentors, mentees, and mentoring programs. At this point, attempting to disconnect completely is most likely an impossible task, even if it were a desirable outcome. However, as with all things, social media connectivity comes with its own set of pitfalls and challenges that can threaten the development of a positive mentoring relationship. It’s up to the mentoring program, mentors, and mentees to determine how to navigate these spaces in a clearly defined, productive way.

Geoff and Ellie live in a suburban Chicago neighborhood that looks familiar from movies like Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — both filmed in the area.

They have three kids — Nathan, 5, Benji, 11, and Abby, 14 — and they’re worried that all three are too into their screens.

An all-too-common experience

Ninety-eight percent of families with children now have smartphones. Young children Nathan’s age consume over two hours of media per day on average, tweens take in about six hours, and teens use their devices for nine hours a day, according to the nonprofit Common Sense Media.

Technology overuse ranked as the No. 1 fear of parents of teenagers in a national survey last year.

As we sit in the family room, Ellie tells us how it feels to have a houseful of tiny electronic devices that travel with her kids into their bedrooms, to the table, in the car — everywhere.

“We’re the first generation of parents that has to do this monitoring,” Ellie says.

Case in point: Nathan, her 5-year-old, is tugging at her sleeve:

“Mommy, Mommy. MOMMY, CAN I PLAY ON YOUR IPAD? CAN I NOW?! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!”

The problem with time-based rules

How did Geoff and Ellie get here? They are not hands-off parents, nor are they lacking in rules. In the kitchen, Ellie has posted color-coded schedules for all three kids, which show when each child is allowed to use screens.

Top of Form

But the kids don’t listen. They fight back and complain. And sometimes, with dad working full time, mom part-time, and three kids with three different schools and three different schedules, the rules fall through the cracks. “Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile and you’re in trouble,” Ellie says. “It’s exhausting.”

At one point, all three kids are sitting in separate corners on the sectional couch in the family room, each on his or her own device. Nathan, the little one, is playing on his iPad, totally hidden under a blanket — head and all. As I talk with Abby, Benji looks up and comments, “This is the most I’ve heard my sister say in a while.”

Ellie puts it this way: “I lost my daughter when I gave her the cell phone.”

I’ve brought an expert to observe and to give Geoff and Ellie some tips. Devorah Heitner has a Ph.D. in media, technology, and society from Northwestern University and is the author of the book Screenwise.

Heitner says she hears this kind of thing all the time. “I think all parents are like, ‘Can you just tell me how many minutes?’ Or I’ll go speak at schools, and people will say, ‘Can you just tell me the device I can use to fix the problem?’ ”

This misconception comes in part from the media, she says, and from companies — Apple, Google, Amazon — that advertise parental controls and settings as a magic solution.

Heitner and other experts do say to draw a bright line — and be a little authoritarian if you have to — over two times of day: bedtime and mealtime. Research says that more than two hours a day of screen time for young children double the risk of childhood obesity. Staring at screens can interfere with sleep, not only because of blue light but because of the emotional excitement of media content and the feeling of urgency about responding to messages.

But in general, Heitner advises that families like this one need to switch from monitoring to mentoring. Policing their kids’ device use isn’t working. They need to understand why their kids are using devices and what their kids get out of those devices so they can help the kids shift their habits.

The relationship between teens, screens and mental health is complex and multidirectional

The real lightning bolt of wisdom on this comes from the oldest child, Abby.

Abby, who has braces and a short crop of curly hair, is snuggled in a hoodie. She starts our conversation speaking softly, but when asked what she wishes grown-ups knew about the phone, she speaks right up.

“Taking it away won’t eliminate problems, ’cause it’s not the sole reason that they existed in the first place.”

Abby’s mom has sent her articles about research linking teen depression and suicide to screen use. A 2017 article in The Atlantic magazine — “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” — drew a link between negative trends in teens’ mental health and the rise of smartphones and social media.

But Abby has a point: The relationship between screens and kids’ mental and emotional health may not be so simple.

“[People always say] the iPhones are the only reason kids are depressed and can’t sleep and have all of these problems — not stress from school, from other people, from other things happening,” Abby says. “It’s never the only reason.”

More recently, a paper from Oxford University analyzed the same data featured in that Atlantic article — more than 350,000 participants in three huge surveys — and arrived at a different conclusion.

The negative relationship between teens’ mental health and technology use is real — but tiny, the researchers found.

“It is extremely, extremely small,” says Amy Orben, the lead author of that paper and two other related studies. “A teenager’s technology use can only predict less than 1% of variation in well-being. It’s so small that it’s surpassed by whether a teenager wears glasses to school.”

In Orben’s view, Abby is dead-on. As Heitner says, “If you hand a happy kid a phone, they’re not going to turn into an unhappy, miserable kid.”

Heitner does caution, however, that devices can “turn up the volume” on existing issues. Children who have special needs or mental health challenges are also more likely to have problems with screens.

This goes for Benji, the middle child. He has anxiety, ADHD and emotional disabilities, and he is prone to meltdowns. Heitner says, in cases like his, parents should consult a professional who knows the child, be it a psychiatrist or occupational therapist.

But there’s another side to that dynamic as well. Some children and teenagers who struggle with mental or emotional health may find that zoning out and playing a game helps them regulate their emotions and avoid meltdowns. For this family, for example, letting Benji bring his iPad allowed him to sit through his big sister’s eighth-grade graduation, and that’s a trade-off the family is willing to make.

And kids can use smartphones to connect with others and therefore feel better too.

In a national study of teens and young adults, Vicky Rideout, a longtime media-effects researcher, found no significant relationship between the young people’s self-reported mental health and how often they used social media.

The young people in the study who were depressed didn’t use social media more often — but they did use it differently, sometimes to feel better. “One of the things that teens are doing online is searching for information and tools to help promote their well-being,” Rideout says.

This has been Abby’s experience.“When you’re really upset, you can use your phone to distract yourself, or contact a friend who can help you, or use it to get your mind off the bad thoughts.”

How to strike a balance? To start, try mentoring, not monitoring

Heitner’s work emphasizes a concept that’s also put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics in its guidelines for parents: media mentoring.

As opposed to monitoring — with charts, schedules and parental controls — mentoring means understanding the media that kids use.

“Mentoring is knowing the difference between Minecraft and Fortnite. Mentoring is looking at the emotional effects of playing in a competitive mode versus a collaborative mode,” Heitner says.

“It’s understanding that … what your kids are doing is part of their identity, whether it’s through the kinds of people they follow on Tumblr or the kinds of things they share.”

Abby, for example, follows YouTubers who talk about important issues — emotions, mental health, body image, self-esteem. It’s important that her parents understand what she is looking at so they can talk to her about it, share their own values and offer support if needed.

This goes double if your kids encounter stuff that is more questionable — porn, video bloggers with hateful messages or bullying or drama with peers online. Parents can’t step in and solve social problems, but they can be sounding boards for advice.

Look for the good in your kids’ media interests

For Benji, Minecraft is a social space where he plays with other kids and pulls pranks. He says he wishes his parents understood more about his screen use — “why it’s entertaining and why we want to do it. And also, for YouTube, why I watch other people playing games. When you watch sports, you’re watching another person playing a game! Why is it so different when you’re watching a person play a video game?”

Scientific debates still rage over whether media use on its own constitutes a true addiction. Meanwhile, psychologists, including Sarah Domoff at Central Michigan University and Douglas Gentile at Iowa State University, have developed a diagnostic quiz designed to be taken by the parents of children 4 to 11.

The Problematic Media Use Measure is based on the criteria for diagnosing a gambling addiction. Parents rate each statement on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always).

It is hard for my child to stop using screen media.

My child becomes frustrated when he/she cannot use screen media.

Screen media is the only thing that seems to motivate my child.

Screen media is all that my child seems to think about.

My child sneaks using screen media.

The amount of time my child wants to use screen media keeps increasing.

When my child has a bad day, screen media is the only thing that makes him/her feel better.

My child’s screen media use interferes with family activities.

My child’s screen media use causes problems for the family.

Abby points out that as kids get older, having their own private worlds online is kind of the point. “There’s a language that teenagers have formed through memes — it would be hard to explain” to adults, she says. But Geoff, her dad, jokes with her about it: “There are things that I understand, even though I’m super old.”

Heitner reminds Geoff and Ellie that the distance they feel from their oldest is also a normal part of growing up. Ellie responds, “That’s a really important fact. I didn’t think of it that way. I just thought of it as it’s the phone’s fault.”

Work together as a family to make changes.

A few days later, Heitner gets on the phone with Geoff and Ellie.

She tells them to get the devices out of sight and out of mind more often. This goes for mom and dad too, she says. Her advice:

Ban devices at mealtime.

Take Abby’s phone away at night.

Impose more chores. Even the 5-year-old can put away his own toys, Heitner says. The older kids can do their own laundry and load and unload the dishwasher. Send the 14-year-old into the grocery store with a list. “It’s a source of self-esteem to get things done for the family and to be valued in the family.”

Introduce new interests. For Benji, Heitner says, set a goal this summer to try to reduce screen time and add something else in.

Try more screen-free whole-family activities like board games, a trip to the water park, or just a walk after dinner to get ice cream.

Ask Benji to monitor his own mood after he plays video games, say, on a color chart. Heitner says this can help him develop self-regulation skills. Instead of just fighting against the limits his parents set, “it would be good for him to start to see, OK, an hour is good, but two hours starts to make me a little crazy.”

Little changes, big differences

Two weeks later, we checked back in with Geoff and Ellie to see how things were going.

They said that they sat down with all three kids with “a bribe” — their favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream — to talk about making some changes to the screen-time rules.

Nathan, the little one, was pretty easy — he’s playing more with his toys now and reading books during snack time.

Benji has made the most progress. He tells us he has been reading a lot more. He found a book series he loves, Wings of Fire, about dragons.

He has advice for parents who want to help their kids cut back on screen time. “If you have kids who are interested in fantasy games, maybe they’ll like fantasy books, or if they’re interested in sports games or animals, maybe they’ll like realistic fiction.”

His parents say his mood is much better. They’re amazed.

Abby, the oldest, has been the toughest nut to crack. But she has been helping out more around the house and doing more projects like cooking.

She made edible cookie dough from a recipe she found online, and the whole family ate it together while watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — a bit of sanctioned screen time, because it counts as a whole-family activity.

Shared from npr; National Public Radio, Inc; June 30, 2019

]]>https://kinshippartners.org/at-your-wits-end-with-a-screen-obsessed-kid/feed/0Attachment relationships and adolescents’ life satisfaction: Some relationships matter more to girls than boyshttps://kinshippartners.org/attachment-relationships-and-adolescents-life-satisfaction-some-relationships-matter-more-to-girls-than-boys/
https://kinshippartners.org/attachment-relationships-and-adolescents-life-satisfaction-some-relationships-matter-more-to-girls-than-boys/#respondTue, 13 Aug 2019 20:21:51 +0000https://kinshippartners.org/?p=4426

Having a secure relationship with; The a parent or guardian — one characterized by trust, caring, availability, and dependability — has been associated with many positive outcomes for youth. Specifically, research has shown that adolescents who are securely attached to their parents/guardians have higher levels of life satisfaction, academic success, interpersonal relationships, self-efficacy, and lower psychological distress. This study aims to look at the relationship between both parent and peer attachment relationships and life satisfaction for youth, as well as examining possible gender differences.

Method:

The study consisted of 587 youth, from five middle schools in the southeastern US, ranging in age from 10 to 16 (M= 12.56). The youth filled out questionnaires on their life satisfaction: a cognitive appraisal of one’s satisfaction with his or her life as a whole (Diener, 1994), and their parent and peer attachment relationships.

Results:

Adolescents with higher parent and peer attachments were more likely to have higher life satisfaction

Analyses indicated that students were more attached to their mothers than their fathers

Peer attachment explained the relationship between parent attachment and life satisfaction for females, but not males

Conclusion:

Overall, these findings add to the literature that links the quality of attachment relationships to life satisfaction in early adolescents. Given that research suggests that during adolescence, there are significant changes that can be made to the organization of one’s attachment system (Allen & Land, 1999; Hazan & Shaver, 1994), this makes adolescence a crucial time to either improve upon the way an individual views relationships and/or reinforce an adolescent’s already secure view and expectations of people in his/her world. Accordingly, these findings have important implications for mentoring, showing how valuable a positive attachment figure, i.e., a mentor, could be for an early adolescent during such a formative time. Further, this study emphasizes the importance of relationships are during adolescence in predicting how satisfied an adolescent feels with his or her life.

By Jean Rhodes August 20, 2014; The Chronicle of Evidence- Based Mentoring

We understand the benefits of mentoring young people when we hear the powerful stories of teens whose lives have been changed by a single, caring adult. If you listen, those stories are everywhere. Like me, you likely have a story of a mentor from your own youth.

What we know about mentoring is that it matters to positive youth development. Now, one of the largest mentoring studies ever conducted continues to support this thinking and links mentoring to a reduction in bullying.

A five-year study sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada found that children with mentors were more confident and had fewer behavioral problems. Girls in the study were four times less likely to become bullies than those without a mentor and boys were two times less likely. In general, young people showed increased belief in their abilities to succeed in school and felt less anxiety related to peer pressure.

Mentoring relationships with youth are complex and there is more to be learned about what makes them succeed, particularly when mentors are matched through organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters and other kinds of nonprofits. In my own research with teens who became engaged citizens, all of the young people in the study had naturally developed mentee-mentor relationships with adults sometime during their middle and high school years. None were matched by organizations. Nonparent mentors – teachers, clergy, and civic leaders – were highly instrumental in how these teens learned to believe in themselves and tackle challenging goals – much like those in the Big Brothers Big Sisters study.

We know that mentoring is particularly beneficial to disadvantaged teens. A study conducted by North Carolina State University showed that youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely to attend college when they have a mentor, particularly a teacher. It also showed that less than half of disadvantaged students have any adult mentor and that only seven percent named a teacher as a mentor.

While many studies have focused on the effects of mentoring disadvantaged teens, we know that ALL teens reap big developmental dividends from nonparent mentoring relationships during their high school years. Regardless of income level, my study showed that teens grew intellectually, interpersonally, and emotionally from supportive mentors. For example, most reported they were better planners, organizers, and problem-solvers. And they grew in self-confidence and self-awareness.

Six Qualities that Make You a Good Mentor for Youth

Most studies have focused more on the effects of mentorship on youth and less on what adults actually do in their role as mentors. But in my interviews with more than 40 young people who were mentored by adults, some common and important themes emerged.

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Young people agreed that you are more likely to influence their life path if you possess the following six qualities:

You are Supportive

By far, the most important role of a mentor is to support and encourage young people, particularly as they struggle to overcome obstacles and solve problems. When young people feel down, upset with their families, or unhappy in their life situations, mentors are beside them, letting them talk about anything and reminding them of their innate value.

You are an Active Listener

Mentors listen first and speak last. Many teens mentioned how little they feel listened to by most adults. Often, they feel inferior even when they have good ideas. But mentors are different. They always listen, even when they are not obligated to do so.

You Push — Just Enough

As parents can attest, most teens don’t respond well to being pushed out of their comfort zones, particularly within families. But teens really like to have high expectations set for them – both academically and personally. They appreciate when mentors push them beyond what they may have imagined they could accomplish. In fact, this is likely the reason why mentored youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely to attend college.

You Have Authentic Interest in Youth as Individual

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Teens can tell the difference between adults who are authentically interested in them as individuals and those who are just playing a role. Mentors engage youth to understand all aspects of their lives and interests. They value young people’s ideas and honor their changing feelings and moods.

You Foster Self Decision-Making

Good mentors don’t judge young people or impose their own beliefs on them. Instead, they remind teens who they are and help them believe they have the insights to make good choices. Knowing they are not being judged helps young people think through decisions critically, sifting through the deeper values that will inform the adults they become.

You Lend Perspective

Adult mentors provide perspective to young people from their additional years of life experience. When obstacles seem overwhelming, mentors help put those challenges in perspective. They also help young people see both sides of a situation, helping model the skills of positive skepticism.

What other qualities make good mentors for young people? How can we provide mentoring relationships to all teens? Please share your insights and experiences.

Why did you do all this for me?” [Wilbur] asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.” “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

By Jean Rhodes

Why do ordinary people sacrifice their precious time, emotional capital, and resources to serve as volunteer mentors? Are volunteers being purely altruistic or are other motivational forces at work? And, if volunteer mentors are motivated, in part, by personal or professional goals, does that make their service any less valuable? These are intriguing questions that have implications for our efforts to encourage and sustain a volunteer mentoring workforce, particularly as we move toward more targeted, evidence-based approaches.

The myth of the selfless mentor

Many of us hold idealized images of volunteer mentors who are motivated solely by the desire to help other people’s children. Such selflessness is thought to be its own reward. Neuropsychologist Richard Davison has found that altruistic behaviors can, in fact, release endorphins in our brains that make us happier. Building on this he recommends that we all give back. If each of us spent time cultivating “various qualities like compassion and altruism the world would be a better place and we’d all be transforming our brains in very positive ways.”

One mentor, a Newsweek reporter, captured these upsides after arranging an informational visit with a pediatrician for her mentee, Risa, and then witnessing Risa’s unbridled enthusiasm for a possible career in medicine on the ride home. “I looked over at Risa’s beautiful face. I wanted to hit the brakes, pull the car over, stare at her and expand time because I knew nothing before or since in my shaky career as a mentor would ever come close to this moment. Risa’s world had just opened up, had become huge and complicated and full of possibilities, and I was there to see it happen.”

Of course, not all mentoring moments are this inspirational. Volunteer mentoring can also be a sometimes exhausting, frustrating, and challenging undertaking–often leading mentors to give up. Indeed, rates of early match closure hover around 40%, with higher rates even higher in matches with mentees who are struggling with emotional, behavioral, health, and academic problems (Kupersmidt et al., 2017). Volunteer attrition is a troubling feature of the field, particularly given the potentially adverse effects of failed relationships and the effort and expense involved in recruiting, screening, training, and matching volunteers.

There are many factors at play, but some attrition may stem from unrealistic expectations, and the failure of many programs to openly recognize and confer benefits to their volunteers. When programs assume universally altruistic motivations on the part of their volunteers, they may fail to embrace or even acknowledge the potential two-way street, leaving mentors feeling burdened by the imbalance. Sociologist Matthew Desmond’s (2012) concept of “disposable ties” captures the consequences of strong imbalances in relationships, particularly given the challenges facing today’s mentees. When mentees are initially unreceptive to or unappreciative of the mentors’ sacrifice of time or show few visible signs improvements in the short-term, mentors can feel drained. Acknowledging and even facilitating the potential academic and career benefits to mentors who can persist may help to motivate and sustain service through the inevitable trials and tribulations.

Such acknowledgment will require a shift in the field, as we often look with distaste and even some suspicion at volunteers who admit to wanting to impress an admissions committee or employer, or to advance their own career development through service. Although such motivations, often disparagingly designated as “egoistic,” are thought to undermine volunteer effectiveness, the scientific literature has not consistently supported this supposition. And deriving benefits does not necessarily diminish the sense of pride and joy that comes with feeling genuinely helpful to someone else.

To the extent that programs explicitly recognize and encourage the potentially transactional nature of volunteer mentoring, they can more directly reap the full benefits of a more engaged volunteer workforce. This might include finding ways for mentors to satisfy pre-professional training hours and/or to earn college credit and micro-credentials such as digital badges, continuing education units, certifications, letters of recommendation, and more (Ragins & Verbos, 2007; Ghosh & Reio, 2013; Weiler). This and other explicit recognition of volunteers sacrifice and service will better position the field to produce a more skilled, committed, and renewable source of volunteer mentors.